FCC proposes tougher Robocall Mitigation Database rules

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a rule to strengthen the reliability, integrity, and effectiveness of the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD), the central registry that tracks how US voice service providers combat illegal robocalls. The proposal, published as a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register of September 9, 2026, would add new tools to remove bad-actor providers, require foreign adversary attestations, and expand enforcement. Comments are due on or before October 9, 2026, with reply comments due on or before November 9, 2026.

The measure, adopted by the Commission on July 22, 2026 and released July 23, 2026, is docketed as FCC 26-49 in WC Docket Nos. 24-213 and 17-97 and CG Docket No. 17-59. It builds on the Commission’s earlier Know Your Upstream Provider (KYUP) FNPRM and the Foreign Adversary Control Report and Order of April 10, 2026, aiming to ensure that RMD filings are accurate, complete, and current, and that only legitimate providers can enter or remain listed.

Strengthened filing obligations

The FCC proposes to clarify which entities count as “voice service providers” and must file in the RMD, confirming that the definition covers all initiating, originating, intermediate, and terminating providers, including facilities-based and non-facilities-based providers, VoIP resellers, and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). It also proposes to codify that parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries that independently meet the definition must each file separately, and to require annual recertification of filings on or before March 1 of each year.

• Providers must attest to Foreign Adversary Control status, i.e., whether they are owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary.
• The Commission proposes to add published RMD filings to the Schedule A of its Foreign Adversary Control rules.
• Providers would be required to keep filings updated and to identify third parties used for call analytics, STIR/SHAKEN signing, and filing.

Tools to remove bad actors

The proposal codifies the causes for which a provider’s filing may be removed from the Database, distinguishing between deficient, facially deficient, and materially deficient filings, and adds new grounds including lack of candor, impersonation, STIR/SHAKEN violations, and national security and law enforcement concerns. It establishes a Three-Step Removal Process and a Two-Step Removal Process, with cure periods of 14 and 5 days respectively, and bars removed providers from re-filing without Bureau consent.

• The Commission has already removed over 1,400 deficient filings since January 2025.
• It has adopted a $10,000 base forfeiture for submitting false or inaccurate information and a $1,000 base forfeiture for failing to update Database information within 10 business days.
• Providers whose filings are removed must notify their customers, and downstream providers may not accept calls from providers whose filings do not appear in the Database.

Expanded enforcement and public safeguards

The FCC proposes that the Enforcement Bureau retain discretion to initiate enforcement action against any voice service provider, including removal of its filing, and to grant, deny, or condition reinstatement based on the provider’s compliance history. It also seeks comment on further streamlining the RMD rules, including terminology changes from “robocalls” to “illegal calls,” and on whether to adopt bond- or fee-based approaches to deter bad actors, as referenced in the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act bill.

Public safety safeguards would remain in place: providers may not block emergency calls placed to 911, and must make reasonable efforts not to block calls from public safety answering points and government emergency numbers. The proposed rules would take effect no earlier than six months after Federal Register publication of a Report and Order adopting them, or 30 days after OMB approval of any new information collections.

The rule directly affects every US voice service provider and the consumers who face illegal robocalls, by making the Database a more reliable gatekeeper of the US voice network. If adopted, it would give regulators faster, clearer tools to expel noncompliant providers and keep foreign-adversary-controlled entities out of the call path.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 173, September 9, 2026, Proposed Rules, p. 57454 (official reference: FCC 26-49; FR Doc. 2026-18366).